While Nizzal and Ahsoka were spending the afternoon in deep conversation. Anakin was sitting in his room. He just started a call to Obi-Wan through his personal holo communicator device. His master was yet to answer his call, and it began to make Anakin nervous.

~oOo~

From the perspective of Anakin.

~oOo~

“Come on, master...” — ‘Let’s hope he didn’t lose his com device once again.’

‘I was about to turn off the call, only to restart it, but just before I could cancel it, Obi-Wan finally appeared in the form of a blue hologram.’

“Finally, I thought for a second that you managed to get caught.”

“Sorry about that, but getting caught was not my specialty, if my memories aren’t beginning to fail me.” — Stated Obi’Wan.

“Heh, anyway, did you manage to find anything useful?”

“Of course, me and Rex kindly invited ourselves to one of the slave pits near the palace. It was an educational experience, for the lack of better words.” — Said Obi’Wan.

“Did you see any togruta?”

“As a matter of fact, yes, I believe that we saw one of the togruta elders in one pit. But didn’t manage to confirm it entirely, not without taking unnecessary risks.” — Explained Obi’Wan.

“So nothing certain yet?”

“Indeed, but it is only the first day since we arrived. I would say we have plenty of time to find the kidnapped togruta tribe’s location...” — Said Obi’Wan.

‘Obi-Wan’s usual cheerful attitude disappeared as he took a silent glance at me through the hologram.’

“You seem to be troubled, Anakin...” — ‘He noted with concern, but it only managed to annoy me.’

“... And you seem to be interested in solving my problems... But, you continuously keep ignoring me, when I am trying to help you solve yours.” — ‘I spoke back to him, frustration clear in my voice.’

“... It, it’s not the same. I was your master. I am still your mentor, Anakin. I am worried about you...” — ‘There he goes with his aloof attitude again, as if he stands above all the troubles of the world.’

“Do you think I am not worried? I am also worried about you and Ahsoka. After that girl randomly appeared in the order, then just as suddenly disappeared, both of you began to act strangely.” — ‘Those words seemed to flow out of me.’

“What are you talking about?” — ‘Obi’Wan questioned, surprise evident in his eyes.’

“This, this is what I am talking about. Do you know how much time Ahsoka spent in the orders library before that girl disappeared?” — ‘I demanded.’

“I would imagine she hardly know the library’s location...” — ‘He stated with a sly, disarming smile.’

“Heh... likely, but don’t try to turn this conversation away from the topic... What I want to say, is that she spends hours there, she is reading through these ancient files about mysterious force users from thousands of years ago... It’s good to be interested in history, but this is more like an obsession... And for what end? All of those people are already dead, anyway.”

“Sigh... Reading holofiles a few hours a day is hardly an obsession...” — Obi’Wan shook his head, clearly amused by the very idea. — “Anakin, I know that I wasn’t exactly the type of master you would deserve. When the council gave me this new padawan, I didn’t want to accept it... I am not... sigh... I made many, too many mistakes and I regret much of it. When I realized that I would have to take the mission either way, I hoped to right my failures to a degree... Yet I failed again... in the end.” — ‘He seemed a lot older, a heavy weight pressing down on his shoulders usually invisible to others appearing for passing moment.’

‘I watched silently as his mental shields, as quickly as they faltered, reformed themselves, settling in that comfortable cheeky neutrality his enemies couldn’t stand to see.’

“Master... There was a time when someone said to me that failure is a necessity of every action. It only means that you have begun to learn.”

“... Very wise words, do they belong to Master Yoda, I wonder?” — Asked Obi’Wan.

“... No...” — ‘I smiled lightly, as the warmth of a distant memory spread over me.’ — “They belonged to my mother. Still, I wouldn’t be surprised if Master Yoda came to the same conclusion.”

“... I see, she is a woman of wisdom, then.” — Said Obi’Wan, nodding wisely at the end.

“...”

“...”

“Master, your ex-padawan is also here.”

“... Of course you are here. I am not talking to myself, am I?” — He questioned with a teasing smile.

‘I had to roll my eyes at that.. It must have been Ahsoka’s influence.’

“No, I am talking about the other one. She is in the palace as a personal handmaiden of the queen... Ahsoka is probably torturing her with an endless series of questions right now... If not worse, she seemed infuriated at the sight of her.”

There was a moment of heavy pause as Obi’Wan considered his following words.

“... I see... but why here and now? I can’t find any connection or reason she should show up here, none the less, as a slave... Did she know that we would come here? Or was she here all the time? But that makes no sense...”

“She was definitely surprised by our appearance, so I don’t think she knew.”

“I see.” — Said Obi’Wan thoughtfully.

“Also, there is something more to think about. She didn’t change, like at all. She looked as if not a day had passed since she had escaped from the prisoner transporter ship.”

“... Wait, do you think?”

“Yes.”

“Of course... why wouldn’t we think about this possibility? She must have been hibernated. That would answer the mistery of her perfect disappearance. That or she must have gone into seclusion, but that wouldn’t explain why she didn’t change.” — Stated Obi’Wan.

“Certainly not. Also, that possibility was very unlikely. Not many are willing to go into long-term hibernation, not if they are healthy or have any other choice. After all, everybody you know will get older, or die by the time you wake. I wouldn’t wish to experience such a thing, but the evidence is clear.”

“This just indicates, the unorthodox techniques and thinking methods the members of the secretive Grey Order use.” — Said Obi’Wan.

“And also to the extent they are willing to go.”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“... Yes, and this is not reassuring at all. I will report this to the council. We shouldn’t act rashly until the council makes their decision. This is already a very delicate situation. We shouldn’t make it into a more problematic one.” — Warned Obi’Wan.

“You don’t have to tell me, Master. Ahsoka will be an entirely different matter, though.”

“I know... But make sure to warn Ahsoka properly... Don’t make the same mistakes as I did.” — Said Obi’Wan.

“I will make sure that she gets it.”

“Then, I guess it is time to go back to work.” — Said Obi’Wan.

“It seems so.”

“...”

“One more thing, Anakin... I am...” — Obi’Wan started.

“Yes?”

“Sigh... May the force be with you, always.” — Obi’Wan finished curtly.

“And so with you, Master.”

‘The call ended, but I was still sitting in the exact place where I was. I never knew that my master, the model jedi, Obi-Wan Kenobi, had self-doubt issues about his teachings. I guess that means he is also human. I smirked lightly... realizing my master’s stupidity. He was a great jedi, a master that I didn’t even deserve. I am the one who is lying to him, and I am the one who should apologize... But if I do... How could I make that choice? Between the order, my home, my friends, that was all my life until recently... and Padmé, my love, my wife...’

‘I felt as a single tear of futile desperation began to run down on my face. Another one of my mother’s teachings came to my mind suddenly. Whoever hesitates to make a choice between two possibilities plays with the risk of losing both.’

‘That, maybe true, but if there is a chance, however small a chance, that may be, to keep both of them. I will make it happen. I promise. I won’t fail you, Padmé. I promised to protect you and I will, and whatever or whoever stays between us will suffer the consequences.’

‘Sigh... It is time to get ready for dinner with that harpy... Why did I even say that I want to bask in her presence, it’s more like burning... if I hadn’t said that, I would probably get away without dinner... Then again, I was improvising because she got into a bad mood after I stared at her slave... Now I see, I should have known that everything is because of that annoying girl, Nizzal or whatever. Everything turns into chaos whenever she appears... Also she called me a... Well, let’s forget about that... Stupid kid...’

‘Sigh, but Ahsoka is right, even she didn’t deserve to be collared like an animal. I doubt she would have become a slave if she had a say in it. After this damn dinner, I will have to call Ahsoka too.’

‘I looked out through the closest window. The sky was getting darker. The first stars had already appeared on the horizon. I took a deep breath from the fresh air coming through the open window.’

‘I hope she is alright.’

~oOo~

Obi-Wan Kenobi was very surprised by this new unforeseen development. Why would that girl appear here after all this time? Could it be a coincidence? She was not expecting to meet with us here. That’s clear, and I trust Anakin’s judgment on this. Then what was the reason? Sigh... Anyway, time to contact the council.

~From the perspective of Obi’Wan.~

“This is Obi-Wan Kenobi Jedi Master. I wish to report the current status of the rescue mission on Zygerria, connect me to the Elders’ house on Coruscant.”

A feminine droid’s voice answered.

“It will be my pleasure, Master Kenobi.”

‘There was a quick distortion in my signal, then the connection was made. Master Yoda, Windu, and Shaak Ti appeared sitting in their councillor seats. The other places were empty.’

There was a momentary silence, then Master Yoda began the conversation.

“It seems that your infiltration was a success, Master Kenobi. Yet I feel that your force presence is confused. Advice if you need, we will provide.”

Master Windu also added a few words of his own.

“You wish to report something about your mission? Did you manage to find the kidnapped togruta tribe so soon?”

“I believe that they are kept here, but I am not entirely certain yet. This was not the reason I needed your advice, masters.”

Windu nodded to that curtly and waited for Obi-Wan to further explain.

“I just spoke with Anakin to exchange information. He reported that a certain long-lost twi’lek child is currently serving the queen as a handmaiden of her inner circle.”

Master Yoda’s ears began to slowly raise, but it was, the until now silent Shaak Ti who stated her question first.

“Uhum... Would that certain twi’lek kid have gray skin with pink eyes with the name of Nizzal Grey, perchance?”

“That indeed seems to be the case. Also, I think we just realized why we were unable to find her. She was likely hibernated, because, as stated by Anakin, she didn’t change at all. She looks exactly the same way as when we last saw her.”

Hearing that, the council fell into a thoughtful silence. Which was, in the end, broken by Yoda.

“A bold move, this is, but effective none the less. Use this opportunity to find the togruta, we must. Ask Ahsoka to question her friend about the possible locations for these slave auction houses and factories outside of Zygerria. Then we will send an attack team to each place to rescue as many slaves as possible.”

The moment Yoda stopped speaking, Windu immediately continued.

“Freeing the slaves will be a great opportunity that will later become a great card in our hands to push the Senate decisions in our favor. We will need every help, and every favor, to destroy the Sith that, against our best efforts, still manages to elude our search.”

Master Yoda continued after a few seconds of silence.

“Darkness, I sense, great darkness, growing under the surface. Every moment this war continues, the Sith gains power over us. They are always just ahead of us with one step... We already know that the enemy is hiding among us. Most likely one of the members of the Senate itself, but we were unable to find its presence, and we don’t have the authority to start an investigation over every senator in the galactic republic. Hmmm, it is ironic that our own democratic system seems to be the one that hides the Sith from our eyes.”

Shaak Ti took over the conversation almost immediately after Yoda stopped.

“Do not fret, Master Yoda. It is exactly what the Sith wants, to make us began doubting in our own values and priorities. Democracy is far from being a perfect world system, but we have to believe in the people to make their own choices.”

“You are right.” — Said Master Yoda. — “Yet I fear that the people will be deceived easily, if even our eyes are blinded to the truth.”

There was a heavy silence after that statement from the clearly tired grandmaster.

After about a minute of silence, Obi-Wan began to speak.

“I feel that there is a reason that girl is here. It seems to be too much of a coincidence that she had also appeared here at the right time. I feel the force in this.”

Everybody thought about what Obi-Wan just said...

Soon, Windu began to speak.

“You are implying that the force led you there to meet with the girl?”

“Yes.” — Answered Obi-Wan. — “She knows much of the force, that we don’t, especially in the darker aspects.”

“Darker aspects, you say. She killed a dozen men with a single force spell, in a cruel and gruesome way, as we already know. Our own jedi investigator team reconstructed and sensed the intense pain and suffering that happened. I should not have to remind you that one of them is still traumatized from sensing such a malicious dark-side aura.” — Argued Windu.

“No. She killed a dozen criminals and serial killers. There is a difference here.” — Said Obi-Wan.

“A Jedi should never use their power to attack, only to defend themselves and others.”

Shaak Ti interrupted suddenly.

“She is not a jedi, she never was. Therefore, you shouldn’t use our order’s way to judge her. It have already backfired once.”

“We have let her live in our temple as a padawan, therefore, she should be judged by our laws and traditions.” — Stated Windu.

“She never asked to be a padawan or to live in our temple.” — Said Shaak Ti.

“We cannot let an unknown force user just run around and do whatever she wants, especially with unclear intentions. If we do so, we may just lend over the galaxy to the Sith.” — Answered Windu.

Yoda chose to interrupt the argument at that moment.

“We have let our pride blind us to think that the Sith have been extinct. Only to find out too late that we were wrong. Our mistake resulted in a bloody civil war, which has yet to end. Then we underestimated a girl from an unknown order, because we were too proud to see the possibility of the existence of another powerful force-sect. I can feel, that the girl is the key, to find and destroy this sith lord. Obi’Wan, you need to bring her back to the temple.”

“I understand, Master Yoda, but what if she doesn’t want to go back, and I can say that I didn’t really see why she would want to...”

“Then, you will have to bring her back against her will.” — Yoda sighed and added. — “We are playing with the future of the entire galaxy. Each of us had made sacrifices, many of us paid with their lives. She will have to stay in the order, and tell us everything she knows about dark side techniques, that will immensely improve our chances of finding that Sith lord. We have no more time to waste.”

“I... I will do what I must, but it won’t be easy... She is one of the personal slaves of the queen... Maybe... What if we propose to buy her while disguised?” — Suggested Kenobi.

“No, we should not pay republic credits to boost the separatist war machines. It is unlikely that the queen would sell her, anyway.” — Stated Windu. — “Make her come with you by herself, or arrest her if you find it necessary.”

“Sigh... I will see what I can do.”

“Obi-Wan,” — Started Ti — “we know that this is a hard task, but it is necessary, for the future of our galaxy, to end this war, the suffering. May the force guide you in your task, always.”

The connection was undone. As Obi-Wan suddenly found himself with another heavy weight pushing down his shoulders.

“Damn... this is getting needlessly complicated again. Why am I always the one who gets these kinds of jobs?”